Gujarat growth model has lessons for other developing nations: Modi

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who is hosting the Vibrant Gujarat 2013 summit at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, today promised the creation of three million additional jobs through the state's development initiatives.

He also claimed that Gujarat accounted for 72 percent of the jobs created in India and the state had the lowest rate of unemployment in the country.

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Addressing the investors, CEOs and entrepreneurs present at the summit, Modi stressed that the focus of Vibrant Gujarat 2013 is knowledge, technology and innovation. Reuters

Addressing the investors, CEOs and entrepreneurs present at the summit, Modi stressed that the focus of Vibrant Gujarat 2013 was knowledge, technology and innovation. Rather than focusing on IT, Modi said the state would invest in environmental technology.

He also reiterated that the Gujarat growth model is the way ahead for other developing nations since the state's development model is recognized internationally and replicated by other states. He also pointed out that due to good management-labor ties, Gujarat today was less affected by the global economic slowdown as compared to other economies.

"Gujarat will now benchmark with best in world. Phase 1 of development is over. We will begin phase 2 now," he said.

Boasting of the state's infrastructure, Modi said he would be setting up world-class investment regions.

"We want smart cities, world class infrastructure and world class technology," he said.

Modi also promised to improve the income of farmers through scientific agricultural techniques.

Focusing on the power of youth, Modi said that if the young in India are properly harnessed, India can take rapid strides in development, progress and prosperity. He emphasized 21st century will be India's century provided "we build on three pillars of skill, speed and scale".

Meanwhile, captains of India Inc and other global industrialists lauded Modi's efforts to attract investments and provide a hassle-free environment for the businesses to grow in Gujarat .

Patricia Hewitt of Indo-UK business council floored the audience by stating that Gujarat is growing faster than China. Even industry captain Ratan Tata noted that Gujarat stood out as a state. The Tata Group pledged an investment of Rs 34,000 crore in Gujarat; RC Bhargava of Maritime termed Gujarat as his second home as it has helped make the company cost-competitive for exports. Aditya Puti, MD of HDFC Bank termed Gujarat as a great example of efficient policy execution and promised an HDFC Bank every 8 km in the state.